‘They keep trying to get into my house’; Farm owner claims family targeted by organized crime

Owners of a Pierce County family farm believe their livelihood is at the mercy of an organized crime ring.

Ashley Little, owner of The Little Farm in Graham reports within the last week and a half the same group has showed up at their property three separate times.

"They cornered my daughter and actually they started poking her horse in the side like injuring her horse," said Little. 

Little says she filed multiple complaints with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department about an attempted theft.  She’s shared photo evidence. 

"We see her come out of the house and my cash box that I take to farmer’s markets was open. Cash was out. She was clearly robbing us," said Little. 

However, the mother of two is concerned authorities are not taking her concerns seriously enough.

"I’ve not been worried so much about what they’ve taken," said Little. "It’s the fact that they keep trying to get into my house."

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department confirms deputies received reports of suspicious activity at the 224th Street SE property both in June and October of this year. The department defends there’s no crime in showing up at a property, but Little argues the group has gone beyond trespassing.

Little claims they’ve let her animals loose, confronted her children and even entered her home.

"We’ve put all the gates, the locks up, we’ve put cameras up," said Little. "They’ve seen that we mean business, they keep coming back and now I feel quite threatened. Short of this becoming violent, how does this stop?"

On July 10th, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department released photos of a group of women who stole approximately $1,500 worth of produce and bulbs from a small organic farm located in the 5000 block of 40th St E in the Waller area. 

The owner was not home at the time of the theft, but a neighbor provided video of the theft and the suspects. They were driving a white 2005 Chrysler minivan, which has been listed as "sold" in the system, with no buyer name.



"While we expect that some community members may have seen this group of women out and about at various stores or other locations, we are specifically looking for names and/or residences," said the post on Facebook asking people to submit tips to Crime Stoppers of Tacoma/Pierce County through the P3 Tips App, at tpcrimestoppers.com or by calling 1-800-222-TIPS
 

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